History
The first Baptist service in Melbourne was held in 1838 in a tent on a vacant allotment of land opposite the present church and where the Regent Theatre now stands. The first chapel was built on the current site in 1845. In the late 1850s it was decided to enlarge the building. The current church, opened in 1862, was designed by Joseph Reed, the architect who designed the Melbourne Town Hall">Joseph Reed (architect)">Joseph Reed, the architect who designed the Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...Building
In conformity with the Baptist dislike of decoration in churches, the interior has plain plastered walls. It has arched moulded windows, a double aisle and side seats facing the pulpit. A central raised pulpit emphasises the stress in Baptist theology on the Word of God being read and preached as central features of the services of worship. Seating is arranged in a "U" shape around the central axis determined by the pulpit and the Communion table. There is no form of decoration other than some detail in the windows and carving on the pulpit and Communion furniture. Traditionally, no cross or symbol appears in the church though that has changed today. Early Baptist tradition also disapproved of music in churches, but in 1854 a small organ was installed. In 1885 a larger organ was installed which was restored and expanded in 1974. The church also owned land at 203People
Ronald Ham, appointed in 1981, was the first Australian-born minister of the church. Rowena Curtis, appointed in 2000, was the first woman.References
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